Last year I felt like the luckiest person in the world when I started my creative project making jewellery out of conches. An idea I had since I was a little girl travelling round the different beautiful beaches in Sardinia.

I thought it was great to be able to make something beautiful out of nature material. I thought I could contribute with something unique, fashionable and responsible.

But then I suddenly realized that what I was doing was against the law. It is not permitted to take away stuff from the beaches. It is written in the legal paragraphs.

First I was really stoked about the fact that what I was doing with love from my heart, was illegal.

I could get a fine of 3000 euro if I brought the conches out of the country. But I had been doing that since I first time remember being fascinated by the beauty of the conches.

So actually I have been criminal for many years.

But leave that aside.

My biggest preoccupation is not that my idea failed.

No… my biggest preoccupation is that I can go into any accessory shop and buy plastic pearls. Plastic pearls that comes from the petrol industry,

Plastic pearls that never obtains a delicious patina after years (they rather get ugly by time)

Plastic pearls that are produced in millions and who not that unique.

And these plastic pearls either ends in the nature because my bracelet broke or they end up polluting our air because I throw them out. I don’t say that this go for every plastic pearl. Some are better quality than others.

But the fact that if I don’t want my conch jewellery anymore I can throw it back into nature and it will become sand or maybe another person would like to have it and use it. That is not the case with the plastic.

And if it is ok to exploit the nature and people to make petrol, silver and gold, why can I not myself make high quality unique jewellery out of material found on the beach?

I do get the point that if 1 million tourists every year take away sand and conches from one specific beach that is a problem.

But hey…. not everyone is interested in having natural souvenirs. And not everybody likes the conch or the sand as memorable accessories, and not everybody has access to them….

So …

of course I had to stop my dream project and I am still in preparation with my new idea. That does not consist of material taken from nature.

Thank you for reading and if you have a unique accessory you’d like to show me, please upload a photo in the comment field.

🤘❤ Anna

Ps. this is a long time since I wrote this post, and since then I became a mum, read more about that in my next post, next week.

This necklace charm once was two wedding rings, but never used after the wedding – now 39 years after the marriage the couple is still together – the rings are united to one – and will be used much more.

Thanks to PR manager Hanne Strandberg Dahl for letting me share the story and inspiring me to write the poem.